Sunday, January 13, 2019

Grants for Female Filmmakers and Women in Film

The filming process isn’t as simple as flying a drone out and getting some aerial shots of your city. It’s an intricate and detailed art that more and more women demand (and deserve) access into. Though the talents of female filmmakers often go unrecognized, grants for female filmmakers make it more possible for them to demonstrate their prowess.Here are some grants for female filmmakers that will help you break down barriers and share your vision with the world:

Filmmakers Without Borders is a nonprofit organization that provides technical training, media knowledge, and digital tools to underserved youth in communities around the world. They offer grants that support independent filmmakers who produce narrative films, documentaries, or media projects that emphasize themes of social inequality, self-acceptance, and cultural fluency.

Women in Film offers grants to applicants who have completed a vast portion of their digital work, including 90% of principal photography and a rough cut of the editing process. Their effort to overcome gender inequality in film has led them to finance over $2 million dollars to over 200 filmmakers worldwide. They give multiple grants a year (of up to $25,000) to films of all genres.

Queen Latifah knows what it’s like to be different—especially in Hollywood. As a black woman, she faces challenges many are unlikely to ever experience. Her own journey into film inspired her to create the Queen Collective, an organization that empowers women in filmmaking and seeks to eliminate gender and racial bias. Though it’s still in its early stages, the Queen Collective accepts submissions from all women who seek to tell their story.

In 2018, Chicken and Egg Pictures announced their Accelerator Lab, which provided finalists with $35,000 and a year-long professional mentorship to pursue their filmmaking goals. 2018 was the first year they offered this female-centered initiative, but since its founding in 2005, this nonprofit has given over $6 million dollars in grants to over 250 films. They launch their 2019 Accelerator Lab on May 1.

As part of the Production Assistance Program, fiscal sponsorship is designed for women who are actively fundraising for their film and desire tax-exempt status. This can be of great help to women in film because many grants don’t accept grants proposals from individuals. Women Make Movies acts as the fiscal sponsor, ensuring that the money received is used for charitable activities as agreed upon by the recipient and donor—they don’t claim any rights to your film or the content and production of your project. Seek help from Women Make Movies to open yourself up to many more grant opportunities!